What Humans Can Do
by BigFluffyPillow
Summary: After a mishap with time travel, Pearl witnesses the greatest moments of the Human race. But what she doesn't know is what these "simple" creatures are truly capable of. The things she sees shock her, in both good and bad ways. Will this change the way the Gems see humans? Maybe not all, but certainly Pearl. Rated T for some things and some massive feels later on. Enjoy.
1. Time Traveling

Pearl gazed at the moon above. It's light shined dimly through the clouds. Bathing all of beach city and it's streets in soft moonlight. The world was quiet at night. It was the only time she could collect herself, and reflect among everything she thought about during the day. The small things like organization and what color socks go in what drawer, and the big things like finding Peridot. All things that needed to be thought about, but only at this time of night. The time where would sit in Steven's room, and watch him sleep. It was a strange habit, but she always admired the way a human could simply turn off. It was strange to her. The moon hung brightly in the sky, casting a light into the room, landing on Steven's head. Pearl moved her view to Steven, the light shinning on his head made him turn to his side. Pearl watched in interest. Then a shadow flicked passed the light, for just a brief second. Pearl's head spun toward the window. A thud was heard outside, accompanied by some clicks and turns of a gear. Pearl summoned her spear as she neared the window. She peeked toward the bottom. There wasn't anything there. She walked back away from the window and sat back in her chair.

"Perhaps it was just the wind." She gave herself some false hope, but the paranoia held in the back of her head. She was tapping her hand against her leg softly as she sat, distracting herself from the strange noise she heard before. It was then that another shadow fell to the ground, with the same thud. She ran to window and looked down quickly. There was some dust specs settling to the ground, shimmering on the sand. She readied her spear by the window, now she would see what ever was falling. It took about 10 minutes, but sure enough, something had made its way to the top of the beach house. This time Pearl looked out the window, and to the rood she spotted a figure, a tall, slender man, creeping on the roof of the house. He was tip-toeing on the roof when he slipped on something. He didn't make a sound as he fell, Pearl catch the man but he fell seemingly fast. She watched as he thudded on the ground. After about a couple seconds, the strange clicking noise was heard,and the body dissipated into the air. Pearl was shocked, was it a human, possibly, or was it a gem monster who would try to harm Steven, more likely. She slowly walked to the roof, spear in hand. She waited in the dark for the creature to appear again. 10 minutes passed until something strange occurred. For just a second, what looked like television static appeared in the shape of a human, then a person blinked into existence. It was a boy. He had blond hair that stood in the front, with big oval glasses and tan skin. He was wearing what looked like a grey sweatshirt and sweatpants. His right arm was covered with a large glove covered with wires and metal. He was wearing old shoes that looked like they had been through hell, and he didn't look like he was wearing socks. Pearl blew it off as another thief. She grabbed her spear and encountered the boy. She questioned who he was, but the boy wouldn't respond. He tried to back away but he met the back of the statue that the house rested on. He had a look of fear in his eyes, having just met this crazy spear lady, wouldn't you do the same?

"I said, who are you!" Pearl barked at the boy. The boy nervously looked left and right, seeing the edge of the roof. He began to run for the ledge. He laughed as he jumped off to the ground below. Pearl watched in confusion as the boy surely had just broken most of the bones in his body on impact, but again, the body vanished into thin air, and ten minutes later, he reappeared. This time Pearl grabbed him by the shirt.

"Wow, you're still here? You must be smarter then I thought." The boy's voice was shaky and nervous with a Latin American accent, "Do you mind putting me down?"

Pearl frowned and tightened her grip, "Why? So you could jump off the roof again and reappear like you did the last 5 times?"

"Actually I did it 8 times, I just fell off the wrong side the last few." The boy chuckled but Pearl only got angrier. His laugh was quick and snappy, it got to Pearl pretty easily. Pearl demanded to know his name. The boy mumbled a few times but not after Pearl shook him once. His name was Mekhi, but that's all he had to tell her. The boy joked as he asked her what he name was, and Pearl gave him the whole Crystal Gems announcer addition.

"I? I am Pearl, of the Crystal Gems of Earth." She held her spear with intimidating might. The boy gave her a quick clap and asked her if there was a bathroom. Pearl counted the question with a simple, yet somewhat complicated, "How did you not die?"

"It's a long story, and if you want to hear it you're gonna have to let me take a dump." The boy's voice sounded less nervous, but more quick and snappy. Pearl frowned as he grabbed Mekhi by the arm, dragging him to the basement. She mumbled some insult to human's and the boy immediately caught on. The two began a heated argument, somehow managing to whisper angrily as if they were actually yelling.

"Human's lives a short an insignificant! We Gems are too advanced for age, time isn't even an issue for us!" The boy twitched with anger at the mention of the word time.

"We humans can do a lot! And I can prove it to you!" The boy huffed, "We can be compassionate, and innovative, and...even evil!" The boy angrily clenched his fists, "We human's can do three times as much as Gem's have done in their millions of years alive!"

Pearl smirked, "And how do you manage to do that?"

The boy held out his hand for a handshake, "I have a deal, if you travel with me for only one day, I can prove to you that we humans are just as good, even better then Gems." Pearl looked around. It was only one day, the Gems would be fine, first she had to show this brat who the dominant race was. She shook the boy's gloved hand, but he didn't let go. Instead his glove began to glow, the two turned to static as the boy laughed, the last words Pearl heard were:

"First stop, Egypt."

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First chapter of new Story. Don't worry about the OC if your reading this, he's only meant has a side character and if anything means of transportation. If its one thing I hate it's edgy all-around characters who have 6 billion lives and no weaknesses. The story will clear up as it progresses. Please Review!


	2. Front Row Seat to The Exodus

The sand whipped through the air as Mekhi's device zapped Pearl far into the past. The air was dry where they had landed. The ground was parched and cracked, all around except for a beaming Utopia in the sands. Ancient Egypt. The Nile river ran through the barren surface, only next to it do flourishing crops of Papyrus and desert fruit dare grow. Boats moved slowly along the river, carrying trade goods. Although the ground below was parched, the sky above beckoned a storm. Mekhi had changed his outfit as well. He was wearing a leather tunic and pants, with linen wraps around his chest and stomach. The threads hung off his body and dragged among the sand. HE was wearing ragged sandals but his glasses and haircut stayed the same.

"Welcome to Ancient Egypt. Or should I say, Great Egypt! After all, it isn't ancient just yet." Mekhi laughed as he picked some sand and lost it through his fingers. He lost his Spanish accent and had gained a more old and articulated voice. Pearl looked around, she remembered this place. This is where the great pyramids where, they gleamed in the distance, an architectural high point of humanity. But it was child's play for the Gems.

"If you're hear to show me the Pyramids..." Pearl scoffed.

"I wish I was, but I think I've done my fair share of time travel to know that humans had some help with those rocks." Mekhi began to walk to a large city among the sands. Egyptian people beckoned to him for trade, but quickly shunned him as they saw his bandages. Pearl on the other hand, was showered with offers of fruit and gold for trade. It must of been the Gem on her forehead, perhaps they mistook her for royalty? But it was when they entered the court of the Pharaoh that they realized what they were here for. Pearl looked to see a human man, standing before the Pharaoh and his guards. The man was wearing ragged shepherd's clothing and sandals. He carried a tall wooden staff that curled at the top.

"Thutmose...I demand you let my people go!" The man's voice echoed through the temple. The Pharaoh only laughed and sent him out once again. As the guard's took him out he shouted, "If you do not, I must curse you with the Plague's of God! I beg you Thutmose! Let my people go!" The guards through him onto the streets, he landed next to Pearl and Mekhi. He got up.

"Are you the one they call Moses?" Mekhi asked the man. He nodded. Mekhi smiled and kneeled to the man. "Do not worry, your people shall be free, but they must pay the price of their idiocy." Moses hung his head low.

"I have a heavy heart...but it must be done." Mose's raised his staff, then slammed it into the ground. Pearl felt the vibration, as did the rest of the city. The next thing Pearl heard, was the screams of fisherman and trader's. They ran from the river into the streets.

"The water! The water has changed!" Their leather bandages and legs were stained with a red liquid. Blood. Pearl looked to Mekhi and Moses. Mekhi then explained to her what was going to happen. The Exodus had begun. Mekhi had brought her here to show the spiritual powers of human. Moses was the vessel of divine power, but he was also human. Pearl and Mekhi watched as the people began to dump all the water they had to the ground, all of it had become blood. Even the Pharaoh spit it out his drink, for the water had adapted the sanguine taste. Moses ran into his home, as the people began to scream in horror. Pearl tried to help them, trying to find any source of water for the terrified civilians. But it was all in vain. She walked over to Mekhi.

"How long does this last?" Pearl looked around at the now panicked Egypt.

"This plague lasts but a day, but I am afraid the Pharaoh costs these people more then just clean water." Mekhi laughed as he watched the people scramble about. Pearl clenched her fists. The next time she saw Moses she would talk some sense into him.

"Why is he doing this?" Pearl gave Mekhi a dirty look. Mekhi explained that thousands of innocent people were being kept as slaves, just for the enjoyment of the Egyptians. None the less that these people were people blessed by the Creator himself. Pearl lowered her tension, but was still angered by the curse. She and Mekhi waited and watched for 10 days. The plagues ripped Egypt apart. The locusts ripped apart the crops, the people had developed oozing rashes. Lice inflicted even the smallest of children and flies swarmed the streets. If there was any water remaining, there was guaranteed to have the ugliest frogs in it. The live stock dropped dead as soon as the herder touched it. Storms raged at night, and the day was shrouded with clouds. But the worst came on the 10th day. Pearl and Mekhi sat among the streets. It was the first calm day all week. Pearl was relieved that the people had finally caught a break, but she was confused when she saw some of the villagers smearing blood on their doors.

"What are they doing?" Pearl watched as the family returned inside. Mekhi held his head low. He was shaking as he spoke.

"The 10th day. The day of Death." Mekhi told Pearl about the final curse, how death would come to reap the first born child of those who did not perform the ritual. Pearl shook her head in doubt. But her doubt was silenced when she saw a fog role in through the streets. Mekhi gulped heavily. Pearl watched as his cynical complexion faded to an uneasy fear. A man walked limped down the street. He seemed old and week, his voice trailed as he whispered. His eyes were sunken in and he looked devastated. He wore tattered mummy bandages and a robe. The fog followed him as he limped. Pearl drew her spear sensing danger.

"Who are you!" She demanded to know, pointing her spear to the limping man. The man did not answer, he only walked closer. Mekhi got up and tugged on Pearl's arm, telling her to back away. Pearl moved back and watched as the man made his way past the two, mumbling. He made it to the center of the town, right to where the Pharaoh's palace was located. He pointed his arm forward and the mist spread through the town. He then turned towards Pearl and Mekhi.

"I am not here for you...Pearl...but all those who walk in life will fall to my their knees before me." The man gave a grizzled laugh as the fog seeped into the unmarked houses. While Mekhi began to panic as the fog reached for him, Pearl just swirled her hands through it. It smelt of lavender. "What's the problem boy?" The man joked, "Afraid of the inevitable? We all meet our **time's** end." It was a cruel pun, but Pearl couldn't help but snicker. The man then began to speak to Pearl, "I don't think you should be laughing either, Pearl, all Gem's pass as well! So don't get all **Rose** -y cheeked with your giggling." Pearl immediately stopped. Whoever this guy was, he was pretty insensitive. Mekhi finally yelled out.

"Death! Please! Do not agonize these children! Make their passing quick!" Mekhi begged with the strange man. The man shrugged and brought his hands down. The fog vanished, but the sounds of mother's and father's gasping and crying resonated all too quickly. The man disappeared into thin air. Pearl realized what had just happened. All those children whose parents had not marked the doors. The first born child had just been killed, at the hands of Moses. She turned and looked at Mekhi in horror.

"A human...did this...?" Pearl gasped as she saw mothers and fathers run into the street with panic and sadness, they ran to the Pharaoh holding their children, but it was all too late.

"We humans have a special bond with the Creator...sometimes we must do his will in ways we do not enjoy...but this...this was necessary..." Mekhi held his head low.

"You call this a feet?" Pearl spat in disgust, "Killing innocent young?"

"I call it a punishment!" Mekhi shot back, "I punishment delivered with power no Gem could hope to posses!"

"We Gems may not be able to speak to the Creator, but we are an articulated race! A race of intelligent and aristocratic people!"

"Do you know what word _aristocrat_ even derives from?" Mekhi shot back in anger. It would take more then The Exodus to show humans potential, maybe he had to take a intellectual stand point, instead of a spiritual one, and what better place to visit then the birth place of critical thinking itself. He ripped his bandages from his arm and revealed his device, he grabbed Pearl's hand and the device whisked them through time once again.

"Next stop, Ancient Greece!"

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Chapter 2 done. I feel this is one of the more sensitive chapters, but trust me next chapter will be better. Please leave a review to tell me how this is going, and maybe comment some places you would like to see Pearl visit. Thanks for reading!


	3. Great Minds of Two Kinds

The sand and dry air had shifted away and had been erased by a cool breeze and a warm blue sky. They had landed in a grassy field, in the distance a Greek Citadel towered over the grassy hills and planes. Athens. Sheep herders waved to Mekhi and Pearl as they walked to the city. Mekhi had changed his attire once again to fit the era. He was wearing a Greek cloth tunic and pants, with newer sandals. His device was covered by silk bandages, to hide it. Pearl favored this new look and decided to switch to a dress more formal to the time, a Greek toga. Athens was a place of culture, it is where the western world was shaped and born. Democracy called Athens its home. Pearl walked through the heart of the citadel. Trading carts and merchants from far lands bartered with the commoners. Students attended the first ever colleges and universities, it was truly an astounding sight. Pearl marveled at the architecture of the old buildings. The true jewel of the city was the Parthenon. The Greek marvel stood tall among the rest of the citadel. It was just like how she saw it before, thousands of years ago. Then it hit her, Mekhi had taken her to see human intelligence, and who better to demonstrate that then the inventor of critical thinking himself. Mekhi led Pearl to a court, Greek scholars all sat in among the rocks, explaining ideas and theories of how the universe had came to be. In the middle of the commotion, a tall, lanky man with a grey beard and shiny bald head sat, lecturing his students. Mekhi greeted the man with a warm smile and some laughter. The man beckoned everyone to gather around.

"It is the wander Mikael!" The man said, "What better way to explore our great world then to hear it from the first traveler himself! Tell me Mikael what new information do you bring to us?"

"Socrates, you know I have limits to which I must reveal, my knowledge is bound by my word." Mekhi turned towards Pearl, "But I do bring yet another of the Gem people." Everyone turned greet Pearl. Another Gem? Pearl was already intrigued. it was then that she realized that there were some women in Socrates' courts, or should we say Gems. They sat and spoke with the humans, exchanging knowledge of the cosmos with the logic of the humans. She was amazed to see Gems actually learning something from other humans. They seemed to enjoy each other's company. Playfully arguing and laughing, all while learning. It didn't take Socrates long to be sucked back into a discussion with someone. Mekhi turned toward Pearl and crossed his arms in pride.

"This doesn't prove anything." Pearl scowled toward Mekhi. Mekhi pushed his glasses closer to his face.

"Then what do you desire?" Mekhi turned toward the court of people, "Gems and Humans are not just co-existing, they are bonding! Sharing knowledge, forming friendships! What is so hard for you to understand!"

Pearl grew angry, she began to rant about how humans were weak compared to Gems, about how them not being able to fight for themselves cost Pearl her only chance to rejoin the Homeworld, she puffed with anger about how they were inferior in technology. The people stopped debating and stood quietly. Mekhi only stood solemnly and glared at Pearl as she ranted. When it was over, Mekhi finally spoke.

"Do you really want me to show you what humans can do." Mekhi's voice was emotionless.

"I dare you." Pearl growled back.

"What am I?" Mekhi's voice still showed little to no emotion. Pearl realized what the questionw as about. Eventually, Humans figure out time travel, and that's why Mekhi is able to do what he has been doing, Pearl blushed in embarrassment, but Mekhi had only just begun, "Have you ever been to Germany?" Pearl shook her head no. "How about Japan...Poland...? Russia, you must have been there, right?" Pearl thought for a second, she had done much traveling about Earth, only to Greece and the US soil on where they lived in the present. "Pearl listen to me when I say the we humans have not had a lot of time on Earth, and Earth won't be around long enough for us to master it fully. I would know, I've seen the end, and the beginning. It all ties in well, but with the little time we do spend together on this Earth, we humans fight, a lot. And we've done some things we aren't proud of, so I ask you again, do you really want to see how brutal we humans can be?" Everyone stood around Mekhi, he held out his bandaged hand, the one with the device. Socrates walked over slowly to Mekhi.

"You've...you've seen the end?" Socrates looked worry, "How does it happen."

"A very big bang, and aftershock." Socrates quickly quieted down. Pearl reevaluated her options. Either be proven wrong and possibly live in fear of humans, or be proved right and have no fear of humans. Odds seemed to be in her favor. So she shook Mekhi's hand. The device clicked and whirled, and they both became static as they where whisked through time. She could already here the chants of people on the other side of the time rift.

"To the Nuremberg Rally."

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A hastily completed chapter 3, chapter 4 will be better seeing that it will probably be longer too. Anyone who likes WW2 will definitely like the next chapter. Please review and tell me how the story is going, thanks for reading.


	4. A Rally to Remember

People had lined in rows for miles. Thousands of people had swarmed around the small German road. Soldiers marched down the dirt path, people cheering and chanting as they passed. They were carrying large banners, smacked with the blood red and white symbol of The National Socialist Party of Germany. They had landed in a city square, behind some sort of stage. In front of them was a large stone brick path, people had spread apart to form a large gap, they watched as troops marched towards them holding the banners, thousands upon thousands of soldiers marched in unison, paraded by millions of German on lookers, desperate to get a glimpse of their great leader. Mekhi had switched his attire again. He was wearing a lab coat with a white shirt and pitch black tie and pants. He was wearing black boots that clicked as he walked, and unlike the last two outfits, his lab coat sleeve was rolled up with his device proudly showing. He realized that he was missing one part of his outfit.

"You're going to need one of these." He went into his pocket and pulled out a red armband, he slipped it onto his arm as the soldiers marched closer. Pearl looked around to all the people, she decided it would be more appropriate to dress more like the commoners, so she changed her outfit to what the German soldiers where marching in. Mekhi shot her a look of confusion.

"What?" Pearl said, "The uniforms are very clean, we Gems prefer to stay clean."

"I don't think he will be very happy about seeing a woman in an SS uniform." Mekhi went into his pocket again and pulled out another armband, he put it in her hand, "You need to wear this, it's the only thing that will prevent us from being shot." he joked. Mekhi watched as the soldiers marched closer, the crowd began to cheer as the saw their glorious leader lead the platoon. Adolf Hitler. Pearl had heard of the man before, but she had never seen him. She looked over to Mekhi, he was standing straight his arms by his side. Hitler stepped from his car and saluted his people at the podium. The crowd cheered and saluted back. Torches blazed in granite plates as Hitler delivered his infamous Nuremberg speech. The people chanted with him as he spoke his words with power. He raised his arm, and the crowd saluted with him. The soldiers, the people, and even the children all praised this man. He must have been a god to them. Pearl was intrigued by the man, but she was also intimidated.

"Why are we here?"

"You wanted to see human's strength? There are two types. This is our strength as a group. One people, unified under one symbol, for one cause." Mekhi didn't break his stance as he spoke, Pearl imitated his stance. She never knew humans could act so...uniform. She listened to the speech as Hitler ranted on, slamming his hands to the podium and stirring the crowd into a fiery roar. She had never seen such passion put into words, not even from the Gem executives. Then she made an interesting discovery. She could swear she could see some Gems standing among the crowd, saluting Hitler as their...leader. How could this be possible? Gems, subduing to mere Humans? It seemed unfathomable, but it was true. When the rally had finally come to an end, the torches where put out, and Adolf Hitler briefly moved backstage to speak with the executives of the Nazi Party, but to his surprise, their were two extra faces.

"Is that Mikeal?" The leader's fierce expression had calmed into a soothing, more mellow voice, "I see you've brought a friend, whose quiet fond of my party."

Mekhi improvised a laugh, as to not sound rude in front of such a powerful person. The man offered to shake Pearl's hand, she slowly approached him. He was a short man, with a comb over and a funny mustache. His handshake was firm, and his smile was wide, but when the members of the SS approached, it was like a switch had flipped from _Nice Guy_ to _Warmonger._ He turned to Mekhi and Pearl and bid his goodbye. Mekhi waved but Pearl suddenly stuck her arm out and saluted him, Mekhi turned to her in disbelief. Hitler laughed a waved back as he walked off with his party members. Mekhi grabbed Pearl's arm and through it to her side.

"Never let me catch you doing that again." Mekhi tried to keep his voice down, but his anger tensed.

"Why? Is it not the correct way to salute a leader?" Pearl looked to the crowd, who was still chanting Hitler's name.

"Listen, my Code of Conduct forbids me from taking sides in any historical battle or war, but that doesn't mean you could side with the Nazis!" Mekhi twitched with anger.

"So what? This is the most orderly I've seen any group of humans anywhere." Pearl gazed towards the crowd, she watched as Hitler's car drove through the street, being lead by the Nazi soldiers, "And with a leader like that...how could you be in the wrong?"

"Your leader is responsible for the one of the most vile war crimes in history."

"So he killed a couple of humans...for every human that died in the _holo-whatever,_ three more were created." Pearl seemed to brush off the fact that she was sympathizing with the most evil man to ever live.

"What if they were Gems?" Mekhi began to set his device.

"Gems? The process of creating a new Gem takes thousands of years of effort, a true Gem is unique in ever way! It will devout its entire life to its purpose, which is more then I could say for humans."

"What are you playing at, Pearl." Mekhi's rage seethed under a calm facade.

"I'm saying..." Pearl was running out of high points, she had seen spiritual power, intellectual power, strength and team work...there had to be something else. Then it hit her.

"You're military is inferior!" Pearl spit that out nervously, hoping it would stump Mekhi. Mekhi shook his head.

"You're running low on ideas. Are you sure you wanna say that?" Mekhi looked like he was giving Pearl a chance. Pearl nodded and grabbed Mekhi's arm. Mekhi shrugged and set the device.

"Pearl I warn you, what you are about to see will change the way you see humans for ever. To Hiroshima."

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Chapter 4. I really thought about how Pearl would re act to Hitler, and if you think about it...She likes things organized, she likes things uniform, she could literally care less about human life, so all in all...yeah. Thanks for reading. Please Rate and Review and tell me how you like the story.


	5. Hiroshima, Part 1: The Bomb

Their was a dark chill in the air. Mekhi's device zapped Pearl into an alley way of a crowed Japanese street. Business men walked to work in the crowded Hiroshima city. Pearl looked around for Mekhi, but he was no where to be found, she was still wearing her SS uniform, and in her pocket she found a note.

 _Pearl.  
I am writing you this note in advanced because I will not be near you during the blast.  
I am not aware of the effects a nuclear radiation on Gems, but I hope it is strong enough to  
get my point across. When you see me, I urge you to remain calm! Do not attack! I am perfectly  
sane of my actions and I will be fine in case of emergency, but in case anything happens to you, I am deeply sorry.  
Get out of that uniform too, you'll get shot.  
Regards,_

 _Mekhi Vistov._

Well, Pearl had found out his last name, now all she needed to know was when he wrote this note, and where he was. But she didn't have time for that, because all that concerned her at the moment was the "nuclear radiation". Gem technology relied mostly on power crystals that where found naturally within the ground of the Homeworld. Nuclear physics had long since been abandoned millenia ago, since it had one cruel side affect. If any Gem experiences too much radiation, there is a possiblity of destorying the Gems form. It won't kill the Gem, at least not completely, but the radiation will alter the way a Gem's form can appear, causing it to turn into nightmarish, cluster type figures. Any and all forms of uranium or reactive metals are destroyed immediately on the Homeworld, to prevent this. But Pearl had never experienced any of this before, she didn't even know what uranium looked like. But her thoughts were abruptly cut by the sound of air plane propellers. She looked up. It was a small plane, far in the sky. Then she saw what looked like a dot fall from it. It was tiny compared to the plane, it whistled while it fell. Commoners looked up, their faces white with fear. A bomb. Then their was a sickening sight. A radioactive symbol smacked onto the side. It wasn't just a bomb, it was a nuke. Pearl knew she needed to find cover, but she was mesmerized by the sight. People running in fear of a tiny bomb, but then. The bomb landed. There was a thud on the ground, and everyone stood quiet. It took 15 seconds. Then everything went white. The force through Pearl back. Her hair singed and her eyes blinded, the bomb's force eradicated the town. The screams of millions drowned out by the raging mushroom cloud. The smoke pillars looked like hands grabbing at the air, and the mushroom cap looked like a skull. Pearl was shot into a building. The ground shook like an earthquake, and the sky looked like a burning hell. Shrapnel impaled anything that dare stood, and pellets of stone flew up from the blast site. Leaving a gaping hole in the Earth. Pearl tried to stand, but rocks and dust still flew at her. It only got worse when a body flew through the window and onto the floor next to her. It was a man wearing a business suit, his right side looked perfectly fine, but his left side...It looked like he had been torched. His face was burnt black and his suit was singed. He was missing his arm and leg. Pearl jumped back at the body. She backed into the corner of the collapsed building. Soot from the building covered her face. It took 3 hours for the smoke to finally clear, but when she looked outside, everything looked...dead. The sky had turned grey from the soot and rubble, and the ground had turned grey for the same reason. The buildings were still relatively standing, but the people that had been hit, had been pelted to bits. They laid among the streets, singed and battered by fire and shrapnel. There were no survivors today. Pearl needed Mekhi now more then ever, hopefully he had survived the blast. She climbed through the window and got to the ground. She felt a radioactive aura pelt her with harmful rays, her form began to fuzz. Was this the military power Mekhi wanted to show? No, there was much more. She began walking in the direction of the blast, she was too curious to keep away. As she walked, fewer bodies lay among the streets, they were replaced by ashy shadows, the last moments of civilians immortalized in a permanent shade. She began to worry as she saw the full vaporization of humans, but her nerves shattered when she saw cracked Gems among the rubble.

"No...it's impossible..." Pearl began to panic, Human weapons...killing Gems? It was ludicrous.

"It's completely possible...Pearl." A ragged, torn voice emerged from the rubble. A man hobbled down the street, his face blown away on the right side, and merely singed on the left. His exposed muscles had been burned into a permanent scowl on the right, but he smiled easily on the right. The rest of his body showed the same, right to left comparison. Bandages wrapped around his torso, covering exposed soft tissue. His arm had been burnt into a bony, reddish black crust. His right arm how ever, wore Mekhi's device.

"Mekhi...?What in the world..." Pearl went for her spear, Mekhi looked more like a monster then a human.

"What's the matter? Pearl,I think this new look really suits my explosive personality."

"How many survivors are there..." Pearl stepped back as Mekhi approached.

"Pearl don't you know what a nuke is...there are no survivors...not even me!" Mekhi's voice sounded hysterically happy, but his left side of the face made him look deranged. He revealed a lead pipe he was carrying, he began to approach Pearl faster. He suddenly jolted over in pain, "Hey Pearl...you might wanna do something before this radiation get's to me! I don't wanna do anything I don't have to! **You gotta help me Pearl this is really starting to hurt."** Mekhi began to run at Pearl with the pipe, Pearl drew her spear and immediately pinned Mekhi to the ground, Mekhi frantically swung the pipe while foaming at the mouth. Is this what radiation does to the mind? She had no time to find out, she knew if she killed Mekhi, he would just re-spawn, so she made sure he did not suffer. She quickly plunged the spear through Mekhi's head. He stopped swinging and went limp. The same clicking and spinning was heard, and Mekhi went into static. It took 10 minutes for him to come back, good as new. He was wearing a blue jumpsuit with a yellow stripe and collar down the middle. His hair and glasses of course stayed the same. Pearl still kept her spear out, but Mekhi reassured he was normal once again. He cleared his throat and spit into the ground, the spit actually sizzled as it landed.

"Welcome to Hiroshima."

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Alright this is gonna be a two part chapter. I hid a reference to another popular franchise in this one, if you can find it, I can't wait **four** you to tell me in the reviews. Thanks for reading and please Rate and Review.


	6. Hiroshima, Part 2: The Bang

The grey smoke plumes hung in the air. Ash and dust flew carried through the breeze. Hiroshima was in ruin. Mekhi's watched clicked and sounded every few seconds. It gave warnings about increasing radiation levels in the area as he walked closer to the blast zone. Pearl looked around the remains of the bustling Japanese city. It was a dead queit, occasional creeks from hanging pieces of metal broke the silence, but only for seconds until they fell to the ground. She watched as the amount of bodies laying on the ground were replaced with eerie nuclear shadows. It was awful, but the shadows looked peaceful in their figure. One was of a women holding a basket in her arms, she and the basket had shown as a shadow against the wall. Another, a man sitting reading the paper. He had his hands clenched on the front cover, his head turned to the sound of the blast, he had little time to react. Then Pearl so something truly heartbreaking. It was a outline of a girl, she was turned away from the blast, ready to sprint, on the ground near her shadow...a gem. Her form had been printed against the wall, and her Gem was unresponsive. Mekhi walked to the Gem and picked it up. It was grey, like it had been deactivated.

"Do you see now..." Mekhi showed her the Gem. "Radiation is the hand of death himself..." Mekhi violently coughed. Pearl couldn't fathom how this was even possible. But Mekhi was more then eager to tell her, "Radiation altars anything it touches. Molecular structure, atoms, even photons of light do not escape its mutation. If I am not wrong...a Gem's form is composed primary of light...and its respective gem...but when radiation skewers the bonds between those particles, it is impossible for the Gem to form."

Pearl held the Gem in her hands, "Is she...dead?"

"She lies in a fate worse then death." Mekhi coughed, spits of blood and tissue came up in his violent irruption, "She will experience unfathomable agony until she will be able to form again, but she will look more of a mass of limbs then a healthy Gem, and her pain will continue to haunt her, end her pain...or let her live." Mekhi's cough became so violent that he fell to his knees. The radiation as eating away at his limbs. His fingers where beginning to fall apart, "Pearl I want you to turn around really quick." Pearl slowly turned away. There was a click, and then a gunshot. Mekhi had shot himself. Pearl turned around in horror, but Mekhi's body phased away like it did before. 10 minutes passed, and he phased again next to her. He looked to Pearl's face, he had changed his to what looked something out of a Fury Road movie, his hair and glasses remained the same though. Pearl looked at him.

"Why did you do that..." Pearl was shaken up, she had seen too much already, "Don't humans hesitate when they take their own life?"

"Only when they know that they can't get it back." Mekhi kept walking forward, "But I always do...always." He pulled out the gun he used, it was a small revolver with a tag that said _The Reset Button_ engraved on and ivory decorated handle. The barrel was made of black steel that complimented the white, it was rather decorative for a gun, a suicide gun none the less.

"...how many times have you-"

"6583472 times, with this gun at least." Mekhi's voice was stoical, and almost sarcastic, "Revolver ammunition is only a third of the price that it was during WWII, isn't that funny...? Funny how things are only worth more when we need them." Pearl was silent, she looked at Mekhi. Mekhi only looked forward, towards the bomb, the smoke still raising from the sight, "Pearl. Humans are brutal. In 1945, the German village of Demmin conducted mass suicides before the Russians invaded, because if the Russians had met them first, they would have suffered a fate worse then death. In 2001, two planes flew into the World Trade Center of the United States, taking thousands of lives simply because some idiots misread phrases in the Qur'an. In 2287, radicals subdue and execute the Prime minister of Russia, shortly after do they plunge the world into a Nuclear Holocaust, eradicating civilization on Earth, and for what? Because some people don't like other people." Mekhi clutched the gun in anger, he spun the barrel and began unloading into the ground. "And I have to live through it all."

"Mekhi please..." Pearl tried to calm him down, she swatted the gun away from his hand and grabed his arms, Mekhi tried to fight her but eventually he calmed down.

"I...I'm sorry I guess I lost my temper." His voice was quick, "Well...I guess you're right when you say Human's are violent...but we do have our calms..."

Pearl let go of him, walking over to pick up the weapon, she stingily picked it up and handed it to Mekhi. Pearl realized that she needed to see these calms, for both of their sanity sake. "Can you show them to me...as you can see I'm still rusty on my Earth History." She tried joking with him, but Mekhi only gave her a hopeless stare.

"Sure...you would probably like England..." His voice trailed. Pearl nodded and then looked at the Gem she was still holding onto tightly, "Do Gems bury their dead...?"

"Gems usually don't die." Pearls voice trailed. Mekhi nodded, he looked for a spot of exposed dirt, and quickly dug a foot deep hole. He asked Pearl if he should shatter the Gem first. She nodded and she handed the Gem over. Mekhi gently placed it on the ground. He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, it was a list of names with sentences and dates by the side. He looked down the list and read off a line

"Andrew Jackson, Died in 1845, _Do not cry...be good children and we will meet in Heaven._ " He folded the piece of paper and then looked over to Pearl, "Any last words for her?" Pearl didn't know what to say. She shook her head and then looked away. Mekhi spun the loaded the barrel and fired one round into the gem stone. It sounded like glass shattering. Mekhi pushed the shards into the hole with his hands, he covered the hole with dirt and bowed his head. There was some loose metal rods, thin enough to bend. He picked the rod from the ground and bent it into a cross. He placed the cross above the hole.

"What does that symbol mean..." Pearl looked at the makeshift grave.

"It means a lot to me, and to a lot of people." Mekhi began to click away at his arm device, "So...are we settled on Britain...?"

"I heard the Roman Empire was very nice..." Pearl gave him a weak smile but Mekhi only gave her a blank look, his cough had returned.

"Anything to get me out of here..." His device began to activate, and the watch flicked them through time,

"To Rome..."

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Writing this made me think. If we are all the same, why do we all think so differently. It takes so little to be branded as evil, but it takes a lifetime to become a good person. Today with all the turmoil and tension in the US, I think we all need to forget the concepts that separate us, and realize that we are all Human Beings, Homo Sapiens. Hopefully that can resonate with the world before something terrible really does take us off this planet. I'm sorry for striking any sensitive notes with my readers, and I want you to know that I too have expierienced that same loss. Thank you for reading, and I hope everyone here has a pleasant day, or night, no matter where you are.


	7. When in Rome

Mekhi's deviced spun them through time. They phased right into the middle of a Roman home. The family was eating dinner when Mekhi had arrived in their living area. They gave him and Pearl one look of confusion and then greeted him. Apparently Mekhi had made his where-abouts known in Rome as well.

"You should ask before appearing in a man's living room, Mecahanus." The man joked as he cut a slice of pork and laid it into his clay plate. The children kept staring as the mother served them some form of ancient dish. It was pork stuffed with a corn like substance, "Cesar has requested to see you, three years ago, he does not like to be kept waiting." Pearl was still wearing her normal attire, and it seemed out of place, both the adults and the children wore plain white togas, they where commoners surely. Mekhi had switched his clothing to that of an Arab trader. His neck was rapped in a scarf, his feet and hands where bandaged, and he wore leather clothes. Surely he would stand out in the crowd, Pearl just needed to keep track of him. She changed into a light blue and white Roman toga.

"My apologies for interrupting your meal. Me and my friend here will meet with Caesar immediately." Mekhi waved to the family as he walked out the shambly wooden door into the Roman square. Pearl marveled at the beautiful Roman architecture. Pearly white marble columns decorated the houses. Towers stretched to the sky with beautifully paved roads at its feet. Traders quietly traded off with decorative Roman coins. It was quiet in the Roman square, until a group of Roman soldiers approached Pearl and Mekhi.

"Mechanus Vistavus, our emperor has personally requested us to find you, 3 years ago." The guards began to walk off with Mekhi. He turned to Pearl and tried to go back, but the soldiers grabbed him by his shoulders. He called out for Pearl but she had wondered off, she was too intrigued with the marvelous city. When she turned to ask Mekhi what the merchants were selling, he had vanished. Pearl was alone in Rome. She began to wonder the streets. peeking her head into shops and taverns, she watched as Roman guards patrolled the streets. She was intrigued the most when she saw a Gem and a human sitting at a trade stand, there where beautiful pieces of jewelry sitting at on the stand. She walked up to the merchant cart and struck up a conversation with the Gem sitting at the counter. Her name was Emerald, and she had been living in Rome for about 400 years. She had met with the earliest of Roman leaders. She was short, with dark green skin and white hair. She looked a lot like Amethyst, but her Gem was on her right palm.

"Humans are really stubborn." She joked, "They always insist that their way is better."

"Most of the time it is." The man who was working the cart snapped back. He was a tall Latin man with curly brown hair and tan skin.

"You don't need to rub it in Ivus." Emerald snapped back quickly. Pearl watched as the two playfully argued. It reminded her of Rose and Greg. Perhaps what they had wasn't so taboo after all. Pearl began to ask questions like _how long have you two known_ _each other_ and things of that matter, but all Emerald did was laugh and give her short answers like _for awhile_ and _sometimes_. Ivus then spoke to pearl about the Arab merchant who the guards had dragged off. He joked about how he would end up in the Colosseum in no time. Pearl had no idea what a Colosseum was. Ivus explained to Pealrl about the marvelous gladiator matches that took place inside the arena, how warriors and lions would rip each other apart, and the winner would go against the toughest and the strongest gladiator they could find. The victor of that match was showered in gold and glory, until the next time they had to fight. While Ivus and Emerald laughed at the concept, Pearl shook with fear. Mekhi was a twig, he would get maimed in a gladiator cage, and at least he could come back! All the people who went to those battles and didn't come back, what happens to them?

"You get cremated, I think." Ivus began counting the coins he had made. Suddenly a flash of light appeared, it was Mekhi's device. He had just came back from a time warp. Ivus and Emerald jumped in fear. Ivus clutched his cash, and Emerald summoned a brass knuckle like weapon. When Pearl convinced the two to calm down, Mekhi told Pearl what happened.

"Apparently Caesar doesn't take to kindly to satire." Mekhi joked, hescratched the back of his head, "Who are these guys." Pearl introduced Icus and Emerald, when Mekhi saw Emerald's palm, he froze. He whispered to Pearl, "Pearl...that's the Gem from Hiroshima." Pearl looked confused, then he saw her palm and remembered the nuclear shadows. Pearl clammed up as Emerald went on about how she loved to travel.

"I always wanted to travel to the Asian islands...I heard Japan was nice...have you two been-" Emerald was interupted by Mekhi's awkward laugh. He did not want to bring painful memories back. Pearl agreed.

"I would love to stay and chat...but my...it's three o'clock and I have to pray. Got to be a faithful Muslim ya' know? Okay bye." Mekhi took Pearl and left the two wondering what a Muslim was. He told Pearl that Islam was not introduced into the world until around 610 A.D. He just made it up said that because he was wearing Arab clothes. Pearl asked Mekhi where they would go now, and Mekhi had run out of ideas. He showed Pearl everything and she was finally convinced that Humans were just as good as Gems. He only had one idea left. Take her to the end. Mekhi told Pearl what the end of civilization looked like. He described a vast plane of grey water, with black brick buildings sticking from the surf. The world had flooded after heat from the radiation melted polar ice caps, and the world looked more like Noah's Arc then a nuclear holocaust. Pearl took Mekhi's arm as his device sent them thousands of years into the future. Mekhi smiled at Pearl as they faded into time.

"Our last stop...to The End."

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It was a good run, but my last chapter comes out soon. I think this story was good, but I need an idea for another story. Please PM me any ideas you have or just leave them in the reviews. Thanks for reading and remember to rate and review.


	8. The End

Mekhi's device brought them to their final destonation. The year was 2372, and the Earth was covered with water. The surf stretched for miles, expanding endlessly to the horizon. The water was calm, not a wave rolled over the surface of the water. Both the sky and the water had a dim grey look to it. Tall grey buildings broke the surface of the water, strongholds for the survivors that managed to pull through the End. The sun was setting, turning the bleach grey sky to a dark black. There where no clouds in the sky. Mekhi's outfit had changed into rags. He wore a stitched grey shirt and ripped grey pants. His device was showing, since it was common place in this time. Pearl looked around the bleak, watery shadow of a world long past. She couldn't tell where she was, all she could see were a couple of brick strongholds, and the endless ocean. The two where standing on a floating wooden platform, almost like a raft.

"This...is the End?" Pearl whispered to Mekhi quietly. Mekhi nodded and smiled.

"This is my home." He sat down on the raft and began to paddle it towards one of the strongholds, "But this isn't where I live of course...I'm surprised you don't recognize this place." Pearl made a shocking realization. This was Beach City, Greg, Connie, and every human she met was long gone, but what of the Gems and Steven? What of herself?

"Where are we going?" Pearl asked Mekhi, trying to hide her curiosity. Mekhi only smiled and kept paddling with his hands. There was a wooden door that lead to the underground stronghold. He stood and knocked on the wooden door, making a familiar tune. The door creaked open and revealed a ladder that lead far below the water's surface. Mekhi jumped into the small opening and held out his hand to take Pearl. Pearl stepped from the platform and began to climb down the ladder. It was a 5 minute climb down to the bottom, and what she saw amazed her. It was the Gem home, completely barricaded in the same grey bricks as the stronghold. There was some dry sand as she stepped, and the house had about five feet of space until the brick ceiling blocked it off from the water. The statue, sadly, was demolished, but the house was completely safe. Mekhi changed his outfit once more. He manifested a sports coat, a white shirt and red tie, with dress pants. He looked like a door-to-door salesman, or for lack of a better term, a Jehovah's witness person who would wake you up at 6 o'clock in the morning. He knocked on the door, a huge smile spread across his face. The door opened slightly and a voice peeped from the crack in the door.

"...Hello...?"

"Why hello there, future survivor of Earth! May introduce you to SafeCorp's new benefactor program?" Mekhi exaggerated a salesman's voice. He was wearing a pin that said _A Nucelar Winter is cold. Stay warm with SafeCorp!_ The door opened more and to Pearl's amazement, Amethyst stood there. He hair was shorter, and she wore a black leather coat with a white shirt and jeans. She had changed her look over the years. She laughed playfully punched Mekhi's pin.

"Mekhi you got fired like 300 years ago, why do you still have that dinky pin." The two laughed until Amethyst noticed Pearl in the back. She looked at Mekhi and the two held a blank stare. Finally Amethyst spoke, "Should I...you know..."

"It won't be necessary. I fixed the kinks in the watch. They can talk to each other. " Mekhi took Pearl's hand and took her inside, "Now everything is almost exactly how it is in the present, so...have some fun." Mekhi let go of Pearl and walked upstairs, there was a sound of a ukulele playing in the background, Steven. Pearl began to strike up a conversation with the future Amethyst. The crystal Gems and Mekhi become somewhat friends, although his sarcastic nature does spring a fight that evidently causes the events of the Tsar Bomba, which takes years of lying and false press to cover up. Steven masters his Gem powers, of course, and Garnet becomes permanently fused because of the radiation from the Tsar Bomba. The Homeworld Gem's are eventually stopped, and Jasper is sent into another dimension thanks to a being known as _The Wandering Caretaker._ Pearl began asking questions like what was the End like. Amethyst described explosions reeking havoc throughout the world's super powers. Then suddenly a huge flood engulfed the Earth in water. It's thanks to Mekhi's time travel that the Gem's are able to build safes for almost every human in the world to safely live out this watery hell. But of course, Mekhi dies at least 17 times during the process. Amethyst laughed as she remember seeing Mekhi accidentally teleport into a solid wall. Then there was a sound of footsteps down the stairs. It was Steven, Mekhi, and the future Pearl. Apparently Garnet always leaves before Mekhi's visits, since she was still angry about the Tsar Bomba incident. Steven still wore his same red star shirt, jeans, and red flip flops, the future Pearl on the other hand, wore a dress similar to Rose's. It was strange looking at herself in the future. They just kept staring at each other. The future Pearl finally spoke. He voice was quiet.

"I guess I wasn't much of a talker back then either." The older Pearl laughed. Mekhi rolled his eyes. Steven gave the old Pearl a big hug. Steven began going on about what a strong Gem he had become, and how he was able to perform all new types of healing and such. He was so happy that he tripped on his own foot while jumping about. Amethyst and Pearl laughed. Mekhi helped him back up and joked that he could have used his shield to break his fall.

"At least I didn't get fired for ringing people's doorbells too much!" Steven jokingly shot back and the two began to playfully wrestle. When they stopped, Mekhi cleaned off his suit and then looked at his watch. The power was running low.

"Pearl, we need to go...I'm sorry. I'll make sure to bring you back if I can, but we need to get back to the present. " Mekhi waved to the future Gems. Steven high-fived him. Pearl and Amethyst hugged Mekhi before he left, Amethyst blushing particularly hard. Before they left future Pearl called back.

"Don't worry! You visit a lot!" Pearl smiled as she looked at Mekhi. He held his device s it activated a final time.

"To the Present!"

It only took a flash, and they were back where they had started in the very beginning. Up on the roof of their home. Mekhi was wearing his sweatpants and shirt, Pearl was back in her normal attire. The sky was dark, and the moon was full. It was still night time, for the exact time, they had teleported only five minutes ahead of the time they initially left. Pearl let go of Mekhi's device.

"So...what did we learn today?" Mekhi jokingly said quietly.

"Humans are...pretty okay..." Pearl quietly said back. Mekhi chuckled.

"I guess its a start..." Mekhi set his device and it began to work. He waved goodbye to Pearl as he whispered his last words, "See you around...Pearl..."

"When the time comes...Mekhi." Pearl whispered as he disappeared into static. It was quiet now. She looked around, the imprint of Mekhi's body in the sand was still there, Pearl realized that she didn't even know why he was here in the first place. Maybe it was just a coincidence, so in the future, they do meet again. But for now, she had a job to do. She walked back into Steven's room, sat back in her chair and waited. Hoping that a shadow would fall from the roof one more time. Just so she could ask him some more questions. It never did. Pearl sat in her chair waiting for morning, watching over Steven, and watching the moon. She had her time, and it was right here.

And that, was that.

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I hope you liked the story, it was fun to write. Please check out my other story "The Wandering Caretaker" and rate and review this one. See you soon.


	9. I need your help!

**I need your help!**

Hello readers, if you have read this far then I would like to ask you for some help. See I'm running low on story ideas but I would love to keep this fan fiction thing up. All I need from you, the reader, is a good character. An OC that would make me say, "This could work perfectly!" or something like "This is great!" So, I would like my readers to leave any interesting or creative OCs in the review section of this story, or in a P.M. that you can send to me. Thanks to everyone who participated in the competition! I will announce the winner in the first chapter of my next story, granted anyone submits.


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